Regional
Wildlife health
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In 2023, the theme for World Wildlife Day is “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation”. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) is working with many partners to strengthen the wildlife component of One Health. This year, we take a look at activities in the region to feature the people who are making a difference.
“It is very important to partner with communities to address wildlife health and management issues because we firmly believe that involvement of local communities makes wildlife conservation not only successful but also sustainable. A supportive community with a positive attitude towards wildlife greatly assists in our work of treatment, rescue and translocation of wildlife.”
“WOAH supports my work on wildlife health by providing a network and platform where experts of different countries share their valuable knowledge, experiences and activities related to wildlife health and management. WOAH is also an ultimate and official source of knowledge and information on wildlife around the world.”
Dr Bijaya Shrestha, WOAH Focal Point for Wildlife in Nepal
“In Laos PDR, the public should understand the importance of biodiversity as it is an essential process supporting all life on Earth, including humans who live closely with and depend on wildlife.”
“WOAH supports my work on wildlife health by keeping me informed on emerging diseases and disease outbreaks. They also outline how to work together under the One Health umbrella, to address diseases at the wildlife-domestic animal-human interfaces.”
Dr Watthana Theppangna, WOAH Focal Point for Wildlife in Lao PDR
Regional events over recent years have identified partnerships—especially working together in a One Health manner—as instrumental to support and improve wildlife health. At the WOAH webinar for World Wildlife Day 2021 in Asia and the Pacific, participants discussed “The evolving role of veterinarians in wildlife health for One Health”. The panel of young professionals highlighted the importance of good communication skills in building relationships to assist in a career working with wildlife.
Stakeholders from the government sector and academia agreed during the Asia-Pacific Tripartite plus UNEP Webinar on “Wildlife Health for One Health” in 2021 that multisectoral collaboration is key to improve the involvement of wildlife health in the One Health space.
During the Joint WOAH and WWF Workshop on “Biodiversity as a One Health Shield in Asia and the Pacific” (2022), participants formulated recommendations on working together in the future. Workshop participants agreed that:
in activities related to biodiversity and ecosystem health in Asia and the Pacific should engage more with other groups to include them in discussions on biodiversity and One Health.
Celebration of World Wildlife Day 2023 in Vientiane, Laos. (Photo credit: Dr Watthana Theppangna)
Lao PDR
In Vientiane capital, the celebration of World Wildlife Day (WWD) 2023 was supported by WOAH RRAP. The event on “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation” was hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAFF), operated by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and the Department of Forestry. More than 200 participants from government (staff from MAFF, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Sport, and Ministry of Tourism), international organisations working on wildlife conservation and wildlife disease surveillance, university students and lecturers gathered together for the one-day meeting. Topics discussed included: surveillance of emerging infectious diseases, One Health, biodiversity and landscape conservation, and wildlife rescue. During the event, the National Wildlife Health Surveillance SOP was launched. Additionally, messages about wildlife were shared on youth radio in Laos during the week running up to WWD.
T-shirts printed in Laos to raise awareness of wildlife health, as part of Word Wildlife Day 2023. (Photo credit: Dr Watthana Theppangna)
World Wildlife Day 2023 celebrations in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal. (Photo credit: Dr Bijaya Kumar Shrestha)
Nepal
Two major events for World Wildlife Day (WWD) in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal were supported by WOAH RRAP. Firstly, a series of three one-day interactive workshops on “Wildlife Conservation with Interface Community” were held in the week prior to WWD. The chief guest was Dr Sulochana Shrestha, Project Director of the Department of Livestock Services. A total of 57 participants from the Management Committee of the buffer zone for Chitwan National Park (CNP), and staff from CNP and the National Trust for Nature Conservation Biodiversity Conservation Center (NTNC-BCC) actively discussed the threats to wildlife, human-wildlife conflict, and the role of community and government in conservation. Secondly, on WWD itself, a “Wildlife Conservation Awareness Rally” was organised. Around 300 participants covered the 2.5 km distance, carrying banners and wearing T-shirts to highlight the importance of wildlife. The event was reported in national journalism (here).
Three one-day interactive workshops on "Wildlife conservation with interface community" held for World Wildlife Day 2023 in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal. (Photo credits: Dr Bijaya Kumar Shrestha)
World Wildlife Day 2023 celebrations in Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal. (Photo credit: Dr Bijaya Kumar Shrestha)
Youth symposium in Singapore for World Wildlife Day 2023, organised by the NParks' Youth Stewards from Nature. (Photo credit: YSN Organising Committee)
Singapore
NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature organised a regional youth symposium in Singapore for World Wildlife Day. 170 youths from 15 countries met to share their aspirations and discuss how youths can play a part in nature and biodiversity conservation. The three-day event comprised a networking dinner and fireside chat on “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation”, a symposium on “Living with Nature” and “Learning for Nature”, and six conservation workshops on “Saving Nature”.
170 youths from 15 countries met in Singapore to share their aspirations and discuss how youths can play a part in nature and biodiversity conservation, for World Wildlife Day 2023. (Photo credit: Faith Tan)
